I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for the talent He has bestowed on all of us!
I have been artistic all of my life and love experimenting with different mediums and techniques. This blog is my creative outlet to share my passion for cardmaking and papercrafting!

Lay
a piece of Whisper White cardstock over the stencil and use your hand or a
clean towel to rub the ink from the stencil onto the paper (I found this to be
easier than flipping the stencil over onto my paper).

Use
a Heat Tool to dry the ink, de-static the area for the sentiment with an
Embossing Buddy®, ink the verse from Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBD) Scripture
Collection 9 and heat emboss with Gold Embossing Powder.

Bert loves pink and just purchased Watermelon Wonder ink so when I saw the colors for this week’s
challenge, I knew that I would have to make a card for her.

My friend Susan and I had a great day celebrating by taking Bert to lunch and then going back to Bert's house to create a card similar to this one using Melon Mambo and the new Flirty Flamingo :-) It was a wonderful, relaxing day with good friends...

If you have not had a chance to visit the Splitcoaststampers’
galleries yet, I highly encourage you to do so- fabulous inspiration from all!

To create
this card:

Create a
mask for the sentiment area from sticky note or scrap paper.

Ink the
Birthday Bloom floral image with using Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black Ink, stamp
onto the top of the masked area as well as the bottom and heat set the ink with
the Heat Tool.

Using
Stampin’ Write Markers- Pumpkin Pie and Watermelon Wonder along with an
AquaPainter™, color the flower blossoms.

Color the
leaves in the same manner with Pear Pizzazz and Always Artichoke markers and
color the centers directly with the Crushed Curry marker.

Once you
are satisfied with the flowers, stamp the sentiment from Rose Wonder in the
center using Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black Ink and heat set with the Heat
Tool.

For the splattered
background, cut open a clear envelope (I slit the one side, top and bottom of a
clear packaging envelope to create an opening like a book), add Pumpkin Pie and
Watermelon Wonder Classic Ink directly to the inside of the clear envelope,
spritz with water and “close” the top part of the envelope.

"Smoosh" the ink inside with your fingers (smoosh is a combination of squish squiggle and smash :-)) , open the envelope and lay the stamped panel
face down onto portions of the ink (lifting and re-positioning in the ink as
you continue over the panel).

Dry the
ink with the Heat Tool, add shadows with the Watermelon Wonder marker and
AquaPainter™.

FYI- Originally this was a one layer panel with just the image popped up on the card front with dimensional foam but I had made a mistake on the initial stamping and flipped the card front over to use the back (now you know my secrets-lol!). To my dismay, the initial inking from the error was visible on the sides- yikes!!Since I could not remove the panel from the card base, I had to cut thin strips of the metallic gold cardstock and gently (and very patiently) add them to create a “frame” and hide the stamping on the back...the card is not as “wavy” as it appears in the photo though but since I have already given it to Bert, I could not take anymore photos :-) Now you know the "rest of the story" - lol!!

Loop some
Gold Thread through the retired Pumpkin Pie button, tie a bow, flip the button over, mount it to the card front and clip the loops.

Use a
Stampin’ Write Basic Black marker with a ruler to add the lines to the top and
bottom of the sentiment area and add Clear Wink of Stella® to all of the
blossoms to finish off the card.

Today it is my turn to post on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog and I designed a card that reflects a
bit of patriotism, summer flowers and the freedom that we have here in
the United States.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends". John 15:13 NKJV

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States and may we never forget the men and women who laid down their lives to defend our country and the families that they left behind....we are free because they were faithful.

I hope you will take the time to visit the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog- my Creative Design Team "Sisters" post frequently and there is so much inspiration in their designs as well as those at the Splitcoaststampers' galleries.

To create this card:

Using sticky note paper, create a masked area in the upper left hand corner of a piece of Whisper White cardstock.

Allow the embossing powder to cool for a few minutes and use a sponge applicator to apply Ranger®
Tim Holtz® Faded Denim Distress Ink, wipe off the excess ink from the embossed areas, remove the mask and re-mask over the “heart-star” area.

Ink the strip image from Grunge Elements using Ranger® Tim
Holtz® Fired Brick Distress Ink and stamp onto the card front createing the stripes (overlapping the images in a row for the length of the paper).

To tone down the brightness of the background , apply Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Ink and a light layer
of Gesso®.

Use the Big Shot™ with the woodgrain embossing folder to emboss the panel, trim the panel and add a piece of knotted hemp twine.

Ink
the Graphic 45 (G45) Botanical Tea Stamp
Set 3 fruit image using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink and stamp onto the front of the card base, create
a mask with sticky note paper to cover the image and another mask to cover the
strip for the sentiment, ink and stamp the clock image from Secret Garden 2
(G45) using Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink, mask the clock and stamp the Carte Postale
image from French County 3 (G45) several times (again with Stāz-On® Jet Black
Ink ) to create the upper background.

Continue
layering stamps and masking for the lower portion with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink, remove
the center strip mask and stamp the sentiment from Botanical Tea Stamp Set and the bee from French Country Stamp Set 3
with Stāz-On® Jet Black Ink.

Use
a Sponge Applicator to apply Ranger® Tim Holtz® Old Paper to the card edges and
part of the center of the card to age the paper and color the fruit images with
Stampin’ Write Markers- Crushed Curry for the lemons, Pumpkin Pie and
Watermelon Wonder for the citrus and Pear Pizzazz for the leaves.

Cut
a clear envelope to create a “book” (see this post for a more detailed explanation on using a clear envelope for this technique :-)), open the envelope and add a bit of Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye and
Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the center, spritz lightly with water, close the envelope
and “squish” the ink around with your finger between the acetate, re-open the
envelope and press onto the card front to distress the paper.

Use
an AquaPainter™ with Ranger® Tim Holtz® Tea Dye Distress Ink to watercolor
some of the areas, add shadows with the
Stampin’ Write Sahara Sand marker and a Speedball Elegant Writer® Black Pen
(adding water to soften and allow the color to run).

About Me

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! As an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator I am responsible for the content of this blog. It is not endorsed by Stampin' Up! Unless otherwise noted, all images copyright 2016 Stampin' Up! Also, unless otherwise noted, all of my designs are copyrighted by me and you are free to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) my designs for PERSONAL USE ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT COPY or CASE my designs for any challenge, contest, publication or for re-sale of any type. If you do decide to CASE my designs for personal use and publish that CASE anywhere on the internet, please give credit (link back to my blog) :-)

My Stampin' "Angel"

My Stampin' "Queenie"

2017-2018 Catalog

2017-2018 Catalog

My Paper Pumpkin- Join Now!

My Splitcoaststampers Gallery

Dirty Dozen Alumni

Cards for A Cause

FTC16CFR Part 255

In accordance with FTC16CFR, Part 255, I declare that I currently receive or have received products that I promote and endorse for free or at a discount from the following companies: Artistic Outpost, Our Daily Bread Designs and Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps. These companies have generously supplied me with complimentary products for promotional purposes while on their Design Teams. My enthusiasm in promoting their products does not stem from the fact that I am compensated by them, but because I love their products and feel their product lines and services to be superior in this industry.